2001 White House gun standoff
On February 7, 2001, two weeks after the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Robert W. Pickett, a disgruntled Wikipedia:Internal Revenue Service ex-employee from Wikipedia:Indiana, at the perimeter fence of the South Lawn of the White House, fired a handgun multiple times, and was shot by Secret Service agents after a 10-minute standoff. The incident came at a time when officials were considering the reopening of Pennsylvania Avenue north of the White House.Man fires gun, LA Times The initial closure had been in 1995, after the Oklahoma City bombing, and was made permanent later in 2001, after the World Trade Center bombing. Robert W. Pickett, an Wikipedia:Evansville, Indiana accountant who was described as 47 years old at the time of the shooting, briefly attended Wikipedia:West Point. He had been employed by the IRS but, after a series of absences, had left under pressure in the 1980s. Pickett claimed he had been unfairly dismissed, as he had been suffering from depression during the time of the absences,Pickett's mental competence questioned, U.S. prosecutors ask for psychiatric tests, Maureen Groppe, Gannett News Service and in 2001 was still in litigation with the IRS over his job. He had also sued his union, the Wikipedia:National Treasury Employees Union, and his IRS boss. Pickett had a history of Wikipedia:mental illness, including six hospitalizations and two Wikipedia:suicide attempts, but no criminal record. In 2000, he bought a handgun in Evansville after an instant Wikipedia:background check. On January 19, 2001, the federal court had given Pickett 30 days to show why his remaining lawsuit should not be dismissed. Just before 11:30 a.m. Wikipedia:Eastern Time on February 7, 2001, Pickett was near the Wikipedia:White House South Lawn and fired shots in the general direction of the White House itself. A patrol car pulled up and talked to Pickett while the Secret Service evacuated some tourists from the White House and the adjacent area. According to official statements, during a 10-minute standoff, he refused to drop the Wikipedia:.38 caliber handgun, instead waving it in various directions and putting it in his mouth. He was shot in the knee by a Secret Service Emergency Response Team officers when, according to an affadavit, an officer heard the gun click, empty. After the shooting, Pickett was originally charged with discharging a firearm during a crime, which would have attracted a 10-year mandatory sentence. As the result of a Wikipedia:plea agreement, Pickett instead entered a guilty plea to a local firearms violation and an Wikipedia:Alford plea to assaulting a federal officer. In July 2001, Pickett, then 48 years old, was sentenced to 3 years at the Wikipedia:Federal Medical Center, Rochester, followed by 3 years of probation. Pickett was released on September 19, 2003. External links * — article about Pickett during supervised release (partial preview) References Category:2001 crimes in the United States Category:Presidency of George W. Bush Shooting, 2001 Category:2001 in Washington, D.C. Category:Assassination attempts Category:Attempted assassinations of U.S. Presidents Category:Gun violence by the mentally ill Category:Mental health and violence